MotherTalk Thursday

I just learned that Monday, Melissa Riggio passed away after a brave battle with AML. I never knew Melissa, but like so many, felt that she had a place in my family. She was a daughter, a sister, a poet, a singer, a writer, and a friend. Her music and her work as a self-advocate touched the hearts of thousands, and I will remember her for her full, beautiful life.

It’s also a MotherTalk day, as we near the end of the blog book tour for Road Map to Holland. If you’d like to be a part of it, write a blog post of your own and send me the link, which I’ll feature here at Pinwheels, and on the list of participating blogs (to the right) that has a permanent link to MotherTalk.

Compost Happens looks at my book in terms of its metaphors, and how, when they no longer fit, we re-interpret them, or invent new ones. She writes, “I’ve never been a big fan of the Holland essay and metaphor, although I knew at least one mom who posted it on her refrigerator as inspiration. Rather, I likened the challenge to expecting a car with automatic everything and then getting a manual transmission instead. The driver has to learn to shift gears quickly and smoothly, both literally and figuratively.” She also has a book to give away; to win, go to her site and leave a comment.

Melissa of Banana Migraine says it’s hard to find time to read, but she’s making the time for Road Map to Holland. She writes, “[Jennifer’s] words paint the most amazing pictures of her life experiences.”

The friend who posted this on her refrigerator had a child with dwarfism. The diagnosis might make a difference in how we view the metaphors; every parent is different.
Odd question: did you have any sense that he might be disabled while you were carrying the boys? I had dreams that clued me in to Amigo’s disability. Spooky, yet peaceful.